TOPICS: WORLD OF WINE II in Spring 2025 (CL2091B)

This course retraces the history of a plant, vitis vinifera, from its origins in Asia Minor and the Mediterranean basin to contemporary vineyards spread across five continents. The wine grape has followed humans on their journeys around the world as they have created lucrative agricultural industries that have occupied indigenous territories, created forms of exploitative labor divided along the lines of race and class, and provided wealth for colonial powers. This course will focus in detail on the history of world wine industries, winemaking processes, and the wine styles of the world’s major wine producing regions outside of France. It will incorporate a variety of theoretical frameworks that allow us to consider the influence of wine on the peoples and places where it is produced.